Farmers Status, Knowledge &amp; Management Practices on Major Chickpea Insect Pests in Some Selected Zones of Ethiopia

Tarekegn Fite,Tadele Tefera,Mulugeta Negeri,Hirpa Legesse

doi:10.5539/jas.v11n1p31

Abstract

Survey were undertaken in five zones of Oromiya and Amhara regional states, Ethiopia from February to March 2018 to investigate farmers&rsquo; status, knowledge, major chickpea production constraints and insect pest management practices of chickpea. The survey involved 293 randomly taken farmers, who are interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Chickpea insect pests were considered as the main, among production constraints of chickpea by most of the interviewed farmers in Ethiopia. The majority of the farmers&rsquo; responded that Helicoverpa armigera (H&uuml;bner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is the most prevalent insect pests of chickpea under field condition and Callosobruchus chinensis (L.) (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) in storage. Development Agents (DAs) were the top pest advisory service providers in the current study. A conventional insecticide (namely; Lambda-cyhalotrin and Dimethoate) for the control of H. armigera was the most commonly used pest management methods. Moreover, Two times insecticide applications per cropping season were the most frequent, deployed by most of the interviewed farmers followed by cultural pest management practices. Use of biological control and resistant chickpea varieties against major insect pests were low to negligible in the current survey study in the area. The majority of the farmers began control decision when H. armigera larval stages were smaller and they did not consider larval number per chickpea plant for the decision. These results will be used to formulate future effective and sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) in chickpea for Ethiopian farmers emphasizing ecologically and economically-based approaches.

Highlights

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the second most important pulse crop in terms of global production, after dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), with over 13.7 million metric tonnes produced annually (FAOSTAT, 2017)
In the current survey study, we found that most farmers are aware of the major production constraints in general and insect pests of chickpea in particular
Chen et al (2013) and Khan et al (2015) reported that lack farmer’s knowledge of pest management and control is one of the factors affecting farmers’ pesticide use in practice. This survey study provides some vital information to better understand of farmers status, pest advisory service, major chickpea production constraints, pest knowledge and the management practices employed in chickpea production in the area

Summary

Introduction

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is the second most important pulse crop in terms of global production, after dry beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), with over 13.7 million metric tonnes produced annually (FAOSTAT, 2017). Chickpea is widely grown across the highlands and semi-arid regions of Ethiopia and serves as a multi/dual purpose crop. It plays major role in the daily diet of the rural community and parts of urban population, as source of income for farmers. Chickpea is cultivated in most regions of the country; Amhara, Oromiya, Southern Nations, Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) and Tigray, in decreasing order, are the major producer regions. Amhara and Oromiya regions together produce 93 per cent of total chickpea production in Ethiopia, while SNNPR and Tigray produce jas.ccsenet.org

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Conclusion